Poll: Democratic Gov. Quinn Trails All GOP Rivals in Illinois

Deeply unpopular Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn trails all four of his potential Republican primary opponents, a poll released Tuesday shows.

The Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll shows state Sen. Bill Brady topping Quinn, a Democrat, by 48 percent to 39 percent; state Sen. Kirk Dillard and state Treasurer Dan Rutherford both ahead of Quinn 46 percent to 37 percent; and wealthy venture capitalist Bruce Rauner leading Quinn by a margin of 47 percent to 39 percent.

“Pat Quinn has made a career out of overcoming the odds, and the electorate clearly know more about him than the others,” said pollster Gregg Durham. “When that balances out, we may see a dramatically different picture.”

In November, Public Policy Polling found the 2014 gubernatorial race a "toss-up" even as Quinn "continues to be one of the most unpopular governors in the country."

In the We Ask America poll, Quinn's job performance ratings remained dismal, with 59 percent of likely voters saying they disapproved of the job he's doing, and just 29 percent approving.

The incumbent did best in Chicago, crushing Brady by 63 percent to 25 percent and polling similarly against the other three Republicans, the survey showed.

But the Republicans topped Quinn by an average of 6 points in the Chicago suburbs and an average of 12 points in blue-collar communities outside Cook County, the poll found.

In southern Illinois, the governor trailed the GOP field by a whopping 30 percentage points, the poll found.

The self-described party affiliation in the poll was 22 percent Republican, 38 percent Democrat, and 40 percent independent. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.